Hogwarts Unity
by Fenrir Draca
Summary: Salazar Slytherin is reincarnated as Harry Potter, and he decides that, with the help of the other founders and certain events that seem to happen during the year, that he is going to correct to corruption of the school and clear his name. Only question, will he succeed? DMHP GGSS slight child abuse at the beginning, but not much beyond that point.
1. Awakening

**Awakening**

Harry laid on his bed, listening to the sounds of scraping forks on plates downstairs. His stomach rumbled from the lack of food, tired of being empty for so long. It had been two days since he had eaten anything, since the latest beating that had rendered him unconscious. Since then, he had been locked in his room, with absolutely nothing to do but listen as the rest of his 'family' went about their normal lives.

He didn't even have Hedwig to talk to as Uncle Vernon had killed her not long after he had come home from fifth year, claiming that she had been making too much of a racket. That had been hard to deal with, having his owl killed not long after his godfather, Sirius Black, had been murdered. It had been harder still, since all of his friends realized what exactly they were risking by being friends with him.

Only Luna stayed by his side.

She was the only one that seemed to have realized all along that there was danger in being his friend, and going along with his plans. The only one that accepted that it was a grave mistake to believe the vision and try and save his godfather. Even Ron and Hermione didn't seem to realize this, and they had been with him throughout all this time, didn't want him.

As soon as he had stepped into the house, his school stuff, including Hedwig, were taken from him and burned in the backyard and he was locked into his bedroom. He was just grateful that he had the presence of mind to keep his wand and invisibility cloak, knowing that his other stuff would at least have been locked up. Though it still made him sad and angry that they had burned his stuff. They had kept him in his room, only letting him out twice a day to use the restroom and shower, Petunia coming up to give a tray of meager rations once a day.

Tomorrow was his sixteenth birthday.

Just as he was lolling off to sleep, he heard the locks being undone and the door being flung open. Harry opened his eyes to look up at his uncle, who was stalking angrily into the room, after slamming the door shut. He briefly wondered what he had done to attract his uncle's ire, but banished the thought, as he knew he didn't have to do anything for his uncle to get mad at him.

But, upon closer look, the rage seemed to be … different. And his eyes were glassy.

_He's drunk!_

Harry carefully sat up, keeping his eyes on his enraged uncle. When Vernon reached the bed, Harry had to dodge a punch to his face, which only served to make Vernon even angrier. He wasn't so lucky to evade the next one, which ultimately led to him being beaten again.

"Can't even protect yourself, freak? It's no wonder your stupid godfather had to die because of you."

It was not a new insult for the summer, but it still made Harry angry. But just as he went to retaliate, his uncle sucker punched him. As he was regaining his breath, Vernon took out a knife that Harry hadn't noticed before. It was just a regular steak knife, but the fact that his uncle had brought it with him with the intent of using it to hurt him, scared him.

Vernon had never used anything but his fists, feet, and belt to hurt him before. But now, a burning cold blade was slicing into his skin, as if was hardly there. He screamed and screamed, but no one came to help him. No one cared. They never did.

No one cared about an orphan.

Finally, after his uncle was apparently done slicing up his flesh, Vernon left the room with a bloody knife, leaving his nephew in bloody strips a few minutes to midnight.

Tears streamed down Harry's face as he laid on his bed, trying to work up the strength of move. Sure, it probably wasn't the worst that his uncle wanted to do to him, but it was the worst so far. It also just served to really pound into his head that no one liked him, and that he deserved it, no matter if he had done nothing to gain anyone's ire.

Damn muggles.

Wait, where had that come from? He had never really hated muggles before, though he never really liked them. It wasn't as if he had anything against muggleborns, but the people they came from …

Where were these thoughts coming from? He had never really dwelled on muggles before, having too much going on in the wizarding world.

But now, he hated them.

Harry finally managed to sit up, wincing as he disturbed his already burning wounds. But as soon as he had managing to sit up, the clock hit midnight. A surge of power slammed into him, knocking him back on his back. Something else also surfaced.

-S-

_He laughed as his father spun him around, his mother laughing from the background. He was three._

_His mother pushed him away, urging him to run, as the muggles converged on them, brandishing torches, swords, knives, and pitchforks. He watched as his parents were murdered and burned, just because they could do magic. All he found afterwards was his mother's locket. He was five._

_He literally ran into a blond haired boy, who merely smiled at him and introduced himself as Godric Gryffindor. It was then that he met his first friend. He was eight._

_Godric's parents sent them both to school, where they would both learn how to use magic properly. They met two girls, one blond, one redhead. Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff. The four of them became great friends. He was eleven._

_He started to see Godric in a new light. The other boy was beautiful, graceful, brave. He tried to hide it, but apparently Godric felt the same, and had no trouble telling him. He was sixteen._

_The four of them, after they had graduated at the top of their class, as some of the most powerful wizards to date, had liked the idea of teaching. It had been Row's idea first, as she had gotten into tutoring first, but she had dragged the rest of them into it as well. They decided to build a school. They quickly found a suitable place in Scotland. It was part of the Gryffindor Family's land, but Godric's parents happily gave them, saying he would inherit it anyway. He was eighteen._

_The school was finished. It was a large castle with a large great hall, many class rooms of different shapes and sizes, towers, and dungeons. It also had many 'secret' passages, most of which were in the dungeon, the part that he had built, just because he wanted to see if any of the students were smart enough to find them. Godric had gotten the same idea. However, there were a few the led to his secret Chamber that were guarded by parseltongue passwords. He was twenty one._

_Teachers had been hired, letters had been sent out to students. They were ready to try out their new school, as well as their house system. He was twenty two._

_He had Godric had had a small, impromptu, sparring fight. Sword against daggers. These fights weren't anything new, nor were any of their other fights, none of which meant anything, but they had never done them in front of the students before. That was probably what scared them. The girls had sent them both away, so that they could try and calm down the children. He had decided to run an errand the he had been meaning to run, and went into a nearby muggle town, even if he tried to stay as far away from common, non-magical _muggles_ as much as possible. In the middle of a crowd, a searing pain had suddenly appeared between his shoulder blades. As his world went black, he only wished that he could see his lover one more time._

_He was twenty eight._

-S-

Salazar Slytherin opened his eyes for the first time in a thousand years. He looked around the small, barren bedroom that had been his as Harry Potter. It looked utterly muggle, even though it also looked like the occupant was abused. Which he was.

Even when he was raised among them, he was still compiling evidence why muggles should have absolutely nothing to do with the wizarding world. Unless, of course, they were a muggleborn witch or wizard. Then they should come and master their magic, but they shouldn't involve even their family. Somehow.

Slowly sitting up, Salazar cast a silent, wandless spell to stop the bleeding from the cuts that were all over his body. He would have to get a potion soon to heal the rest of it. He had never been good with healing spells.

For now, he pulled himself up, doing his best to ignore the pain, and pulled on a clean set of clothes. He grabbed his wand and invisibility cloak, and Disapparated out of the house, intent on never returning there ever again.

-S-

Salazar appeared in front of Slytherin Manor, which he had only found years after his parents had died, after he had lived on the streets for three years. Seeing as how the manor greeted him as a long lost friend, without him having to take over the wards again, no one had been inside since.

He smiled. This was where he would stay until school started up again. This was where he would stay until he went back to the place that had always felt the most like home. As soon as he stepped inside, it was clear that no house elf had been there in a long time. He used spells to clear as much away as possible as he walked by.

He was tired, so he made his way to where the master bedroom was, finally noticing the tracks in the dust on the floor. Snake tracks. He smiled, happy that snakes saw his manor fit to use for their home.

Apparently his bed, too, since there were several coiled up on it when he walked inside. All of the snakes hissed threateningly at him, getting themselves into a position to strike it they had to.

"**I mean you no harm,**_**"**_ Salazar hissed in parseltongue. _**"**_**I only wish to sssleep.**_**"**_

"**Who are you?**_**"**_ one of them asked, a beautiful black, female viper.

"**Sssalazar Ssslytherin—**_**"**_

That was all he got out before the snakes lost their defensive positions and started to voice their disbelief and excitement.

"**It can't be!"**

"**Imposssssible."**

"**Isss it true?"**

Finally, they settled down, and the viper asked they question that they all wanted to know. **"Are you really Sssalazar Ssslytherin?"**

Salazar nodded**.****"It ssseemsss that I have been reincarnated for whatever reassson."**

The snakes got excited again, but the viper's next question made them all silent again. **"Why do you sssmell hurt?"**

He sighed.**"The family I lived with before didn't like me much, and there hadn't been much I could do to protect myssself, for I didn't know how. In the morning, I will sssee what hasss to be done to get a potion, but for now, I just want to sssleep."**

The snakes immediately made room for him, which he immediately curled up in. The snakes then proceeded to curl around him as his consciousness faded.


	2. Diagon Alley

**Diagon Alley**

Salazar walked down Diagon Alley, the black viper, Seraphina, wrapped around his forearm. After she had followed him around as he got ready for his trip into the Alley, he had offered her to become his familiar, since he had regretfully killed his last one, and she had been able to shrink herself so she could hide, since now wasn't the time to be walking around with a large snake around his shoulders.

Magical Viper, he had found out. Extremely poisonous.

He walked into the Apothecary, buying all of the potions ingredients that he needed. He made sure not to move too much because of his wounds, but they still reminded him they were there with every movement he made.

As much had he would have loved to go back to his manor to start brewing the potion he needed, he had to get a few other things in the Alley, as well as his school stuff, since he probably wasn't going to bother to come back. Besides, it was easier to just get the stuff now, since he was here anyway. And before he had really thought of what had happened the night before.

His final stop, after picking up everything else he needed was Flourish and Blotts. Madam Malkin's had been necessary, since he needed an entirely new wardrobe. He was _not_ going to continue wearing Dudley's old hand-me-downs. He had decided to forgo Gringotts, he would deal with looking at his old vault later, when he wasn't in so much pain.

Inside the bookstore, after getting his school books, Salazar grabbed books on potions, spells, and history. He wanted to catch up on everything that he had missed in the last thousand years, and books would help more than his teachers at Hogwarts could.

Finally, everything he needed was paid for, shrunken, and in his pockets. He walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, and Apparated back to his manor.

-S-

How could had this happen? He hadn't thought that remembering a past life was even possible. Why would he be any different? Not that he was complaining, necessarily. He now knew that his supposed 'heir' really wasn't even one of his descendants. He had never had kids.

It was also slightly ironic, but perhaps showed his devotion for his lover, that Gryffindor's Golden Boy was the reincarnated Serpent Lord.

He had to wonder if he was the only one to have this happen to. Were the others reborn as well? Would he get his wish to see his lover again? He hoped so, he would love to see them all again. Maybe they could take their school back from the corrupt and selfish Headmaster that had taken over.

Salazar grinned to himself. Yes, he would look forward to that. Why would he have been reincarnated and the others wouldn't have? He looked at the vial in his hand, full of the potion he had just finished. Perfect.

He downed the potion, then went over to sit in a chair, stroking Seraphina, who had returned to full size and had coiled up in his lap. He wondered where Godric was. Who was he in this life? It wouldn't have surprised him if he had practically switched places with him, since Salazar seemed to have acted pretty Gryffindorish as Harry Potter, at least he had acted that way since he was in that house, even though the hat had wanted to put him his own house.

If they had switched places, who was Godric? One person came to mind, that looked almost exactly like him at the age they were now, but it couldn't be him … could it? But … they didn't get along! If the person he thought of was Godric Gryffindor, how come they didn't get along? Or maybe … maybe it was just because he had been confused when they met, and had had no friends before Ron and Hagrid, and hadn't wanted to lose them.

Salazar sighed. He wouldn't know for sure why they hadn't gotten along for the past five years, but in a month, he would know if this person really was his lover reincarnated. And he would see if he could find the girls too. But, he would only get the chance to start looking when he got on the train to go back to Hogwarts.

For now, he would just plan how to get revenge on his stupid muggle relatives.

-S-

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, going over his plans. Harry was getting a little bit out of control. He would have to bring him back under control. He couldn't afford for the boy to start asking questions. He would also have to get his trio to forgive each other. Hermione and Ron would be easy, all he would have to do would be to tell them to continue being friends with Harry, and they would do it.

Harry would be a little harder. He had been rather angry the last time they had talked, but he was sure it was nothing that he couldn't fix. Perhaps he had only been in shock by seeing his godfather get killed. They hadn't been close, but Harry was so compassionate that perhaps he needed some time to come to terms with it.

Today was his birthday, so as a birthday present, to also help get him under control, he would take Harry out of his relative's house and take him to the Borrow to get reacquainted with his friends.

Using the floo, he contacted Severus, telling him to come to his office, then walked back to sit back behind his desk. When the dark man stepped through, Albus smiled at him, making sure that his eyes were twinkling.

"Severus, my boy, I'm afraid I need to ask a favor of you."

"What do you want, now, Albus?"

"I need you to go get Harry from his relatives' and take him to the Borrow. He deserves to spend time with his friends, especially after what happened."

Severus sighed. He didn't want to see Potter at all, and now he had to see him before school had even started. He didn't want to see him pampered by his relatives, but he supposed that there was nothing he could do about it, there was no arguing with Albus.

"Are you sure that I am the best person to do this, Albus?" Well, he still had a mask to keep up.

"You are the only one free, Severus. Minerva is still making sure all of the muggleborns are all informed and ready to come this year, and all of the other professors are still getting ready for the new school year, and they don't know Harry as well, anyway. So, yes, you are the best person to do this, Severus."

Severus sighed. "Yes, sir." With that, he flooed back to his rooms to get ready to face the brat.

-S-

Severus appeared in front of 4 Privet Drive, sneering at the sameness and _muggleness_ of the houses. He walked up to his destination, and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, a horse-like woman opened the door, but almost immediately tried to shut it again. Severus put his hand on the door before she could.

"Hello, Tuney."

"YOU! Get out of here! We don't want your kind here."

He sneered. "_My_ kind will be out of your hair as soon as you give me Harry Potter."

"He's not here, now go away!" She tried to shut the door again, but Severus pushed it back open, glaring at her.

"What do you mean, 'he's not here'?"

"He ran away last night, ungrateful brat! Vernon was only giving him what he deserved, and he decided to repay our kindness by disappearing! And good reddens, I say. Why we ever let him stay here is beyond me." This time, when she went to shut the door, Severus was too stunned to stop her.

What did that mean, 'giving him what he deserved'? It seemed that his opinion of Potter's home life was a bit off base. And now, the brat wasn't even here to prove him wrong. With a sinking feeling, Severus Apparated back to Hogwarts to tell Albus what he had found.


	3. Reunion

**A/N: To make things easier, for me, Luna is in the same year as everyone else.**

**Reunion**

September 1st came around relatively quickly, but at the same time, very slowly, after Salazar had gotten used to the fact that he had been reborn. When he woke up on the day he had been waiting for, he was practically bouncing around the manor, making sure he had everything. The snakes all told him to calm down.

But, then a thought he had been avoid made itself known. What if Godric didn't want him anymore? History didn't paint him a favorable light, and he suddenly wondered if Godric was the reason for it. When he voiced this thought, the snakes all hissed at him to stop worrying, that his lover's feelings wouldn't have changed just because he had gotten himself killed.

Over the past several weeks, all of the snakes in the manor had become even fonder of him as they got to know him. All of them loved him, and probably would have loved to come with him to Hogwarts, but, for now, only Seraphina got that privilege.

When he finally Apparated to King's Cross, with his trunk shrunken in his pocket and Seraphina wrapped around his neck as an interesting looking necklace, mostly hidden by his cloak, Salazar quickly boarded the train, making sure that no one saw him, not that there were too many people yet. Over the weeks, his appearance had changed slightly, so he looked exactly like he used to, before living as Harry Potter, except a few years younger. His hair, now past his shoulders, hung around his face, since he didn't feel like tying it back. Everything else was miniscule, just a sharpening of the features or a slight darkening of his eyes, as well as not having to wear glasses anymore. He had managed to hide the scar behind glamour.

"**Are we going to meet your friendsss?"** Seraphina asked quietly.

Salazar nodded. **"Hopefully."**

He walked up the corridor, looking for his friends, but knowing it was perhaps too early for them to be here. However, after a few minutes, he glanced in a compartment that already had someone inside, and stopped. Inside was Luna Lovegood, but he could see that she was also someone else. He quickly opened the door.

"Rena?"

Her head snapped up. When her eyes landed on him, they widened. "Sal?"

He grinned, stepping into the compartment and shut the door. As soon as he turned around his arms were full of a blonde girl. She was sobbing, saying his name over and over. He sat down, keeping a good grip on her, just as relieved by seeing her. It gave him a reason to put a stop to the insecurities that he had refused to acknowledge. He had been afraid that he would be alone, even if he had never stated as much.

After several minutes, she finally pulled away, wiping her nose. "I'm sorry, but after you died, no one had been the same, especially 'Ric. And when I woke up with my memories, I was … I don't know."

He smirked. "The great Rowena Ravenclaw doesn't know something? The horror!"

She slapped him on the arm. "Salazar! You're horrible!" She smiled. "You haven't changed, even with this life."

He raised an eyebrow. "Should I have?"

She shook her head. "Definitely not! Like I said, it was never the same after you died."

"Speaking of, do you know where history got their information?"

"Probably from the rumors that he been spun before we found your knives from where those muggles had burned your body."

He grunted. "Makes sense."

They sat there for a little while, just enjoying each other's presence again. He was happy that his last remaining friend from his life as Harry Potter was also one of his friends from him life as Salazar Slytherin. It told him that she never would have left him, no matter what.

It wasn't long before the compartment was opened again, and he once again found himself with an arm full of a sobbing girl, this time she had red hair. Rena moved back to her original seat to give her more space beside him.

This one took longer to compose herself, but when she did pull away, he saw Susan Bones beaming up at him, as if she had just seem the greatest thing ever. "Sal! You're alive! And here! And so are you, Rena!"

Salazar smiled back at her. "I'm happy about it, too, Helga."

"It would seem that we have all been reborn for some reason. Now all we're missing is Ricky, and everything, at least between us, will be set right again," Rena said.

"He's going to freak when he sees you, Sal. Does either of you know who he is in this life, yet?"

Salazar exchanged glances with Rowena. "I have an idea, but I'm not going to assume anything." Helga nodded in understanding.

"You should probably come over here, Hel, that way they have room when 'Ric pounces on him." Both girls giggled at this.

Salazar scowled at them. "You're just going to leave me all alone to face the storm that's likely to kill me again?" They giggled again, nodding. He huffed, mock glaring at them.

While they waited for Godric to make his entrance, the girls swapped theories of what he was going to do once he saw Salazar. After listening to some of their stories, Seraphina had decided it was probably better for her health if she vacated her current spot, and slithered over to settle between the girls, who had paused to smile at the snake and ask what he name was. They were long used to him being a parselmouth, and knew that any snake he took the school was not liable to bite anyone. Which was why they had let him raise a basilisk in his Chamber. A basilisk that he regretfully killed in this life.

He had finally took out a book to read—_Dark Arts: Most Useful or Useless Spells or Rituals,_ which he had taken out of his manor library—when the compartment door slammed open and he was thrown onto his back on the seat, with Draco Malfoy's snarling face mere inches from his own. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Helga and Rowena shut the door and cast a spell at it, presumably to make sure that no one outside of the compartment could see. A good thing, since people would stare, even if they weren't enemies this life.

"Salazar Slytherin," Godric growled at him, sounding more dangerous and angry than he had ever heard him, in either life. "How _dare_ you do that to me?! How DARE you die on me! You weren't supposed to do that! You were just supposed to get that stupid errand done and come back to me. Not let me wonder for several days before I found your knives. I almost wish you had run away." His face crumpled, and he buried it in Salazar's neck, becoming the third person to cry on him in the last two hours.

Salazar wrapped his arms around him, petting his hair, which was also longer. "I know. I'm sorry. I hadn't meant to die, but I hadn't noticed that any of the muggles were going to kill me. I know I probably should've taken someone one with me anyway, but I hadn't thought it would take very long. I'm sorry."

Godric wrapped his arms around him, gripping him tightly, as if he would disappear if he let go. Salazar just laid there, petting his hair while he cried, keeping his eyes on his lover. He didn't even notice when the girls smiled softly at them.

The train had started moving by the time that Godric had stopped crying and pulled away, but he never let Salazar go. He leaned back down to softly peck Salazar's lips, but then sat up, maneuvering both of them into a more proper position, with Salazar, who was by now pouting, leaning against Godric.

"I don't get a better one?"

The girls, including the snake, started giggling like crazy at that, while Godric only smirked at him. Salazar glared at all of them, turning his head away and pouted out the window in a childish gesture.

"You know, it's kind of funny how you both got each other's houses," Helga commented.

"Actually, the hat had wanted to put me in my own house, but I told it to put me in Gryffindor, only because of what I had heard from Hagrid and Weasley about Slytherin. Really going to have to change that," Salazar said, muttering the last part to himself.

Godric nodded. "It wanted to put me in Gryffindor, but considering who I was—am—I didn't allow it to. My father probably would've had a heart attack if it had."

Salazar snorted, amused. The petty prejudices of this day were getting to be a bit too much.

"So, are you two just going to ignore your past rivalry?" They both just looked at her, causing her to blush. "Sorry, stupid question."

Godric smiled at her. "It was actually a good question, Hel. Really, we should probably be acting as if nothing has happened, but everyone knows that 'Harry Potter' and his friends aren't getting along, so many will just see it as a me taking advantage of it for Voldemort or something."

"So how are the rest of us going to act toward each other at school? Sal and I were known to still be friends after the events of last year, but what about Hel? She had never really been friends with any of us," Rowena asked.

Salazar just shrugged. "Why try to hide it? Like Ric said, I'm not friends with really any one in my house anymore, so I don't see why it matters. Besides, who cares what anyone else thinks? When we come out as the founders, it will become clear then."

"And Dumbledore?"

Salazar's smile was feral. "I rather doubt he will fare much better than Voldemort."

The four sat there in silence for a while, Salazar leaning against Godric, just staring out the window, loving the warmth of his partner at his back. Godric loved hugging Salazar to him, having felt like he was missing a part of himself when he had died. Rowena read the Quibbler upside down, like Luna always did. Helga just absently stroked Seraphina's scales while watching the other students pass by their compartment.

"Um … Godric, what about you? Do you have the … you know?" Helga finally asked.

Without moving his arms from around Salazar's waist, Godric pulled up his left sleeve to expose his bare forearm. "I managed to avoid it. I never wanted it, and both of my parents knew this, but father hadn't really known how he was going to keep me out of it if Voldie really wanted to have me marked. But he managed to get him off of it for the mean time."

Salazar smirked. "Not sure how he would've reacted if he knew that he wanted to mark Godric Gryffindor."

"I'm more worried about how my parents would react to that."

"Are we going to tell our families?" Helga asked.

"For now," Rena said, "it would be best if we kept it to ourselves."

Just then, Hermione and Ron stopped outside of their compartment door. Hermione frowned, then opened the door, already getting into a lecture. "You shouldn't put up a spell so no one can see you. It's against the rules. What if … Harry?"

Salazar stared coolly at her. "Granger, Weasley."

Ron's face went red when he saw the position that Harry was in. "Harry, mate, what are you doing with Malfoy?!"

Godric raised an eyebrow. "What does it look like, Weasel? It's not like you care about him anymore, so what do you care?"

"What are you talking about? Of course we care about him! He's our best mate!" Ron yelled.

"Harry, we are sorry about how we reacted last year, but it was a lot to take in. We're fine now. There is no reason to go running to the enemy," Hermione stated, stepping closer.

Salazar hissed at them in parseltongue, **"Get away from me, bitch,"** then continued, a bit more civilly, in English. "I'm not running to the enemy, simply going to people who see me for me, and do not hang around just because I'm famous for something I can't even remember. Now, leave."

She had stepped away when he had hissed at her, but instead of leaving, she had, once again, stepped closer. "We are not going to abandon you. We are not your friends for your fame, but because we know who you are. These people will never be able to see you for who you really are."

"Go back into the hole you crawled out of!" Helga snapped, making both of the intruders snap their heads over to her. "We know him better already then you ever will. And I do believe he told you to leave. So, do so. And leave him, and the rest of us alone. And tell Dumbledore to stop using people for his own personal gain!"

Helga got up and practically shoved them out of the compartment, causing the other three to stare at her. Helga never got angry at anyone, and she certainly never shoved anyone like that. When she sat back down, she noticed their amazed stares and asked, "What?"

At that, all three of them broke out in cheers and applause and congratulations, causing her to blush, ducking her head.

"Never thought she would be the one to do that," Godric commented, causing Salazar to laugh and nod in agreement.


	4. Homecoming

**Homecoming**

Hogwarts welcomed them enthusiastically. When they passed the wards, which also welcomed them, and gave them back their power over them without alerting Dumbledore, she had demanded that they hurry up, sensing that all four of her creators where there once again. She hugged them tightly in her own way, almost refusing to let go, forcing them to stop walking while they promised that they wouldn't be going anywhere. Salazar especially got a desperate hug. Even the other students seemed to notice the air of excitement with the castle and the way the enchantments in the Great Hall, when they finally reached it, changed into bright colors and the symbols for each house appeared where a sky should've been.

Salazar was smiling, loving the way the castle felt like the mother that he had never had. It was only then that he realized how the castle had helped him over the years. When he asked, she told him that she hadn't known that he would turn into Salazar, but that she had liked him anyway and had decided to help.

When they got to the Great Hall, the four friends separated to the four different houses, Salazar trying his best to find a seat away from any of his former friends. Seraphina hissed comfortingly at him, able to pick up on his agitation when Ron and Hermione sat in front of them and started to ask about what had happened earlier on the train and trying to apologize about their behavior at the end of last year. He ignored them.

When all of the little firsties were sorted, Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome back for another wonderful year! I hope everyone had a wonderful summer holiday. Now, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Lucius Malfoy." He clapped politely as Godric's father stood up from his spot next to Snape. This declaration stunned many, including Lucius's own son, who looked just as surprised as everyone else when Salazar looked over to him.

"This year, we are going to have a special contest that only happens every fifty years or so. The contest is only for Sixth and Seventh years, however"—most everyone else started complaining, but Dumbledore silenced them before going on—"The contest is this, four lucky people will get to the chance to pretend to be one of the Founders. Anyone from any house can sign up to be any of the Founders. If you are picked, you will have to do several tasks, but before you start to panic, this is nothing like the Triwizard Tournament. These tasks will simply teach us more about our school's history. If you are picked, you will have to share quarters with the other 'Founders', but the boys will not be able to enter the girls' rooms, and vice versa. During free time, there will be a sign up sheet here in the Great Hall, if you wish to sign up to be one. Winners will be picked in two weeks."

He went on with his normal announcements, but Salazar wasn't paying attention. He smiled amusedly at Godric when he looked his way. This would be a _very _interesting year.

-S-

After the feast, the four of them met up, Godric telling another prefect that he had to do something. Rena was bursting with excitement.

"This is an excellent idea! It's a perfect way to teach the history of this castle!"

Salazar grinned at her. "This will be fun. At least, it will be if I can get Granger and Weasley off my back."

Godric laughed. "You did look a bit annoyed there."

"I looked _a bit_ annoyed? I was about to go on a rampage if Granger didn't stop apologizing and Weasley didn't stopped telling me that we should both sign up for Godric Gryffindor."

"What, you don't want to be me?"

Sal let his eyes run up and down his lover's body, scowling mockingly. "Why would I ever?"

Ric growled, swiping at him.

"It would make it easier, wouldn't it? If we all won. We would have quarters all to ourselves," Hel said, sounding very happy.

"He really should make sure that no one could enter anyone else's room, if he's worried about the winners taking advantage of not being in a normal dorm. What if they like their same gender?"

"Shh!" Sal said, glaring at her. "Don't bring it up with him. I rather like him not blocking me from Ric's room should we win."

"You could probably get through them, anyway, Sal."

"It's too much work."

The four of them walked around the school, bickering about random things that came up and just enjoying being in the castle with their memories, and with each other, again. Eventually, however, they walked by the DADA classroom.

"Draco."

They turned to see Lucius Malfoy standing in the doorway, his eyes apprising the company his son was apparently keeping. He did not sneer at Salazar, as had expected him to, instead he smiled softly.

"You did not tell me that you were friends with Harry Potter. Did you think I would have gotten mad? I wouldn't have, I assure you."

Godric shook his head. "It's not that. We weren't really friends until we met earlier on the train. We talked things over, and came to a friendship."

He nodded. "And who are these lovely ladies?"

Rena smiled dreamily, back in her Luna personality, while Helga blushed slightly.

"This is Luna Lovegood and Susan Bones."

Lucius inclined his head. "A pleasure to meet all of you." All three replied in kind, Salazar a bit in surprise. This was a side he had never seen, nor known about, in Lucius Malfoy.

"Father, why didn't you tell me that you were going to be teaching?"

He smiled amusedly at his son. "I wanted to surprise you."

Godric grumbled, "Certainly worked."

"Now, I believe you four should be getting to bed. Wouldn't want you to be out after curfew, even if you are a prefect, Draco."

They had continued on for a few more feet, only to be stopped once again, except this time it was by a scowling Snape. The potions professor didn't look necessarily happy to see them, and they could see a confused light in his eyes as he examined them.

After a few minutes, Snape finally turned to Salazar. "Potter, the Headmaster would like to see you. Perhaps you could explain where you were this summer, since you decided that you were too good to stay at your house, where you were safe from any … unwanted visitors."

Sal looked over at his friends, motioning to them to go on, that he would be fine. When they started down the hallway, he turned back to Snape. "Lead the way, professor."

-S-

Fawkes had been just as happy to see him as his friends and the castle had been. As soon as he stepped into the office, the phoenix had landed on his shoulder and hugged his head with his wings. Snape had given him a weird look when he finally got Fawkes' wing out his face. Dumbledore only smiled in his grandfatherly way, perhaps looking a bit more pleased by his phoenix's actions than anything.

"Ah, Harry. Good to see you, my boy. Lemon drop?"

Salazar shook his head, absently wondering what his obsession with the candies were. "No, sir."

Dumbledore nodded, popping one into his own mouth. "I was very worried about you this summer, Harry. Would you like to tell what you were doing?"

Salazar plastered a sheepish and ashamed look on his face and looked down, making sure that his Occlumency shields were up and strong, just in case. "I just wanted to see a bit of the world. I never get to go anywhere. I figured that I would be fine as long as no one knew that I was out of the house."

When he looked up, Dumbledore gave him a disappointed look, and he felt a nudge at his mind. He mentally snorted, only a baby wouldn't be able to feel that intrusion. How he had never noticed the old coot looking into his mind before was beyond him.

Dumbledore looked faintly surprised, probably at the fact that he couldn't get into his mind, but covered it. "Well, I must say that I am disappointed that you would do that without at least telling me. If you had asked, I'm sure anyone in the Order would have loved to take you on a day trip somewhere."

Sal nodded. "I promise I won't do it again." _Not._

"Now, my boy, I was wondering what you thought about this year's events?"

"They sound interesting. Perhaps I will sign up. But, sir, how are the winners chosen?"

Dumbledore smiled. "The winners are chosen by the Sorting Hat randomly from the list that it is given."

Sal nodded, suppressing the urge to smirk to himself. This might just be too easy. "Are we done, sir? I would like to get a good night's sleep before class tomorrow."

The Headmaster nodded. "Yes, Harry, you may go."

Salazar walked away, only stopping at the doorway when Fawkes had yet to leave his shoulder. The phoenix only dug his talons into his shoulder at his attempts to dislodge him.

Dumbledore laughed. "It seems that he would like to stay with you for a while, Harry. Don't worry, perhaps it would be good for him to go with you for a while."

Salazar nodded, then continued to walk out the door, rolling his shoulder to get the damn bird to release his tight grip.

-S-

Dumbledore smiled. Fawkes reaction to Harry had pleased him. It told him that his weapon was still Light, despite his little impromptu road trip. And the fact that the bird wanted to stay with him, told the Headmaster that his familiar had been just as worried about Harry as he had been. Wouldn't do for his weapon to get hurt or change sides. Or worse, completely turn against him.

It had surprised him when he had been unable to get into Harry's mind, but he supposed that this was a good thing. Voldemort wouldn't be able to get in and start to control him. But, still, it would be easier if he knew what his weapon was thinking. He wasn't entirely convinced that that had been the only reason that Harry had left his home. If it had been, he would have told someone.

And there was still the fact that he needed to get his trio back together. Ron and Hermione hadn't put up much of a fuss when he asked them to be friends with Harry still, but Harry had seemed to be ignoring them at the feast. And he had left with Draco Malfoy, of all people. Sure, Luna Lovegood and Susan Bones had been there as well, but Dumbledore still planned to break Harry and Luna apart.

At the moment, he wanted to know why Harry had suddenly become friendly with Draco. Sure, he had hired the boy's father, but it still wouldn't be good for his weapon to be friendly with a Death Eater's son.

"Was it really wise to let Fawkes go with him," Severus drawled.

"Fawkes will make sure that Harry stays on the side of the Light. Perhaps it will keep people from questioning him until he comes to his senses and stops being friendly with the Malfoy boy."

Severus clenched his jaw to keep from defending his godson, he knew it would look suspicious and would do no good anyway. He accepted the answer without further question and walked out.

-S-

Salazar walked away from the Headmaster's office, absently switching between stroking Fawkes' feathers and Seraphina's scales, already planning how he and his friends would take over this little competition and turn it into something that could help them get their school back. And change his reputation.


	5. A Bet?

**A Bet?**

Over the next week, the school was abuzz with talk as people signed up for the Founders position and speculation as to who would get which position. It seemed that people thought that Harry would be Godric Gryffindor and Draco would be Salazar Slytherin. No one could agree on who would be the girls, though.

During dinner one day, Hermione, who, along with Ron, insisted on sitting with him, despite his obvious discomfort and annoyance with it, announced that she would be signing up to be Rowena Ravenclaw. Ron had looked almost affronted, claiming that no one should sign up for someone else's house, even if the founder of their house was a male. Hermione had huffed, saying that it at least wasn't Slytherin she was signing up for.

Even during class, the students still speculated. The teachers indulged them somewhat, but still got mad when they got too off track. Especially Snape. Lucius was surprisingly lenient, and a good teacher, but only if his students actually put work into what they were doing.

On Friday, exactly one week before the winners would be announced, the four of them walked into the Great Hall, which was full of students mulling around. Salazar grinned at his friends; it just made it easier that there were so many here to watch this, it wouldn't do for them to make an uproar when the winners were called. And, even better, Snape and Malfoy were watching over the students, both standing over by the signup sheets.

They walked up together, the girls going for their respective house sheets, the boys going to, what everyone else thought, each other's, both putting on a reluctant, and, for Ric's case, put out, face. They pretended to hesitate a few feet away from the table, glancing at each other. Both were aware of the stares and whispers coming from behind them as the students spotted them.

Salazar was the first one to approach, putting on some of the Gryffindor bravery he was known for in this life. He had just picked up the quill to write his name on the signup sheet for Salazar Slytherin when Snape's voice stopped him.

"And just what do you think you're doing, Potter?"

Sal looked up embarrassedly. "We lost a bet. Who knew girls were so smart?" He quickly signed his name before anyone else could stop him. The silence was deafening, and when he turned around, everyone was staring at him in disbelief. He flashed when a smile before he grabbed Godric's arm and pulled him closer to the table, handing him a quill to sign his name on the other sheet.

"Do I have to?" Ric whined, though he would vehemently deny it, especially as Draco.

"Yes," Rena answered simply.

"It was part of the deal," Hel added. "You shouldn't have agreed if you didn't want to do it this badly."

Godric was still looked reluctant, so Sal added, "Scared?"

That did the trick, as he glared at him, then signed his name, glared at him again, then swept out of the room. Sal shrugged at the girls, then followed, leaving a burst of exclamations and whispers of disbelief and amusement behind them.

-S-

They started laughing as soon as they were far enough away from the Great Hall. Arguments could still be heard coming from the room they had just left as the students tried to figure out what had just happened.

Godric grinned. "What do you think Dumbles is going to do when he finds out about this?"

"Probably try to change it," Salazar answered.

"Good thing we have the castle on our side, then."

They ran down the corridor like children, laughing and pushing each other the entire way as they made their way to the seventh floor corridor. The Room of Requirement and the Chamber of Secrets were usually the rooms that they had gathered in before. While they had other places to go, like the Headmaster's office, when they wanted to be alone, but these two promised not to be found by students if they didn't want to for a while.

As soon as they were in the room, Salazar had a pillow in his hand, confusing the other three, until he grinned and swung at Godric. The girls shrieked, moving away from him while Godric merely summoned one of his own and retaliated. The girls summoned some of their own and joined the fight.

Thus, started their first pillow fight in a thousand years.

An hour later, the four were laying on the floor, feathers of dozens pillows surrounding them. All of them were grinning broadly. They could feel Hogwarts' amusement as they caught their breath.

"**Massster, wasss that entirely necessssary?"**

Salazar looked to where the hissing had come from, and saw Seraphina, full size, coiled up in the corner of the room with feathers on the ground next to her, looking somewhat ruffled. He grinned at her. **"Of courssse it wasss, Sssera. Sssurely, over the past week you learned that we have a tendenccy to do strange thingsss?"**

"**The four of you have not had much time to ssspend together over the last week. I have, however, noticed, over the past month that I have known you, that you are sssomewhat … ecccentric."**

He raised an eyebrow at her. **"If you noticced that, then why did you asssk?"** The snake huffed, but didn't answer.

That was one of the things that needed to change about his house. When he was alive, Slytherin House was more cheerful, never not becoming friends with someone just because they were in a different house or they weren't purebloods. They even, in Salazar's opinion, came up with the best ideas for pranks in the seemingly never ending prank war.

The prank war had originally started between Salazar and Godric, but eventually their houses got involved, with a few inputs from the girls and their houses. That was probably what had started the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

If only the new students hadn't heard the rumors—playful ones that came from competitions to come up with the most ridiculous ones they could—from when they couldn't find on Sal's body. If they hadn't heard them, his reputation wouldn't be so bad and his house wouldn't be seen as the dark house.

"What were you two hissing about?" Godric asked.

"She just wanted to know if the pillow fight was necessary."

"Oh. … It was."

"Yep."

-S-

It took a few days, but eventually Dumbledore called them to his office. Salazar and Godric were in potions at the time, but since it was so near the end, it didn't matter. Salazar, being who he was, had decided that he wanted to stump Snape and be the best person in class, topping even Hermione. It was amusing watching Snape try to find _something_ about his potions the insult him about.

So far, he couldn't find anything.

Snape had seemed almost relieved to send them off to the Headmaster's office. As soon as they were far enough from the classroom, the two boys started laughing. This time, Salazar had been the first one finished, by far. During class time, Sal and Ric had taken to talking loudly about random topics without a care about everyone else. The Gryffindors got extremely annoyed by this, the Slytherins, who had seemed to take a strange liking to him now that he was friends with their 'prince', joined in sometimes.

Today, they had gotten into an insult war.

When it had started, Salazar's housemate had looked so relieved, as if they thought he had returned to his right mind. As the class had gone on, and Sal had finished his potion, they figured out this was not the case. The Slytherins found it highly amusing.

Salazar and Godric quickly made their way to the Headmaster's office, Sal humming all the way. No one was waiting for them to open the way with the password, and instead of waiting, Sal just hissed at the gargoyle, making it jump to the side.

"Won't he ask about that?"

Sal shrugged. "If he does, I'll just say he never gave us the password and just felt like trying to see if that would work." Godric accepted this, since he hadn't really wanted to wait, and it wasn't like it was a huge secret that Sal—Harry—was a parselmouth.

Salazar also didn't bother to knock on the door, and just walked in. Fawkes, who had resumed his post at watching the Headmaster, at Salazar's request, thrilled, and greeted both boys, causing Dumbledore to be confused when Draco got the same greeting as Harry did.

"Ah, my boys. Glad that you are here now. Lemon drop?" They declined. "I've been meaning to ask you two boys something. Won't you sit?"

The two boys sat, Fawkes sat on Godric's shoulder. It was evident to both of the founders that the phoenix was happy to have both his master and his master's lover alive and healthy.

"About the contest. Why did you two put your names on the wrong list?"

Salazar furrowed his brow. "The wrong one? I'm was pretty sure I signed up to be Salazar Slytherin—"

"Exactly! Why did you do that? You housemates are very concerned."

He snorted. "Then they don't know how to take a joke. Slytherin, on the other hand, seems fine with it. Rather amused, actually."

While Salazar said this, Godric pretended to sulk and look put out.

"Why, Harry? Why did you put your name on that form?"

"I thought that any one from any house could sign up to be any of the founders."

"But, you will get people worried should you get picked. Slytherin wasn't the nicest person, he was rather dark. And the people wouldn't like it if you were picked to play someone so dark. But don't worry, I fixed the problem. You both are on the right form now, so no worries."

Salazar's eye twitched. If this old coot knew exactly who he was talking to, he would have been more careful of what he said. Godric and Fawkes both seemed to have frozen, waiting to see what he was going to do.

Salazar took a deep breath to keep his magic, which had always had a darker aura to others, or so he was told, no matter what type of magic he used, under control. It wouldn't do to let the old man see what he magic really looked like. He was only able to keep his temper by telling himself that the old man would get what was coming to him eventually.

He stood up, and fixed the Headmaster with a glare. "It was just a bet, Headmaster. Nothing to have gotten so upset over." With that, he stalked out of the room, barely noticing Godric following him or Fawkes' song coming from his perch beside the desk.


	6. The Winners

**The Winners**

The day finally came when the winners of this contest would be called. His 'friends' were surrounding him, assuring him that he would never be picked as Salazar Slytherin and the Dumbledore probably changed which list his name was on. They seemed convinced that he would be picked as Godric Gryffindor. The idiots.

The entire day students from the other houses were grinning at him, wishing him luck. Even Slytherin took part in this, also wishing Draco luck. Godric had told the other three that they seemed to find the idea amusing, even beyond it just being another way to annoy the Gryffindors. It seemed that the Slytherins that they had known when Salazar had been alive, the ones that had had no problem showing their eccentric side outside of their house, was still there, just kept in the common room. And they were all ecstatic that the 'Golden Boy' had a chance of representing the dark side. It was only better that this would annoy the Gryffindors and Dumbles all the more.

The choosing would come at the end of dinner, so Salazar had to suffer with these idiots who knew nothing about who he was. Only Neville was fine with the chance of him representing Slytherin. The timid boy had smiled encouragement at him, and had even went to sit with him, but he got pushed out of the way by the others, and only smiled helplessly when Sal had sent him a pleading look.

Finally, Dumbledore stood up. "Tonight, we will choose who our Founders will be represented by." Cheers broke out, even by Slytherin, who were usually more refined, causing the other houses to look at them. They only grinned at them. Some of the Hufflepuffs seemed a bit scared by that.

McGonagall brought out the Sorting Hat and set it on the stool it usually sat on when waiting to sort first years. It sang a song about the Founders, describing each of them, confusing most, except for Slytherin House, when it said that Salazar was misunderstood. The Ravenclaws seemed to want to start discussing that, but managed to refrain themselves.

When it was done, Dumbledore stepped forward again. "As I said at the Welcoming Feast, the winners will be sharing rooms, so even if you do not like each other, please refrain from fighting each other. For some of the tasks you will have to do throughout the year, you will have to work together. Hopefully, you will be able to work together. Now, we will start with the girls."

McGonagall took his place, called out "Helga Hufflepuff!" before stuffing a roll of parchment under the hat.

The hat was silent for a few moments, seemingly not doing anything, but the four founders could feel it somehow consult with the castle. They inwardly grinned to themselves. No matter what Dumbledore tried, he wouldn't be able to stop the castle.

"SUSAN BONES!"

Hufflepuff cheered, happy that one of their own was representing them. They gained polite clapping from Slytherin and Ravenclaw, as well as more cheers from Gryffindor. Helga walked up to stand in front of Hufflepuff table, smiling, looking somewhat embarrassed at being the center of attention.

McGonagall took the parchment from under the hat and replaced it with another one, calling out, "Rowena Ravenclaw!"

The same thing happened between the hat and the castle before "LUNA LOVEGOOD!" was called out.

This time, Ravenclaw was cheering the loudest as Rena walked to stand in front of her table.

Salazar looked over to Ric, and they shared a grin. So far, so good.

Dumbles announced that it was now time for the boys.

"Godric Gryffindor!"

This time, it took slightly longer, and it was obvious that the Gryffindors were ready to start cheering for Harry. Slytherin also looked to be holding its breath. Finally, "DRACO MALFOY!"

Gryffindor sat in stunned silence while Slytherin cheered loudly, happy that it was who they had wanted it to be. They loved tormenting the Gryffindors. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw also cheered. Salazar just laughed, cheering. Neville clapped as well, but everyone else at the Gryffindor table were silent, as if they couldn't get it through their head what had happened.

Up that the head table, Lucius Malfoy clapped for his son, who was grinning evilly at the Gryffindors he was now standing in front of. Severus also grudgingly clapped, a dreadful feeling in his belly, especially as he looked at the only person who was cheering at the Gryffindor table.

Dumbledore felt as if all of his plans were crumbling around him. How could a _Malfoy_ have gotten chosen for this? It made no sense. But he supposed it was fine, as long as Harry didn't get chosen for the last position.

McGonagall, who was smiling softly, much to the bewilderment of her house, replaced the parchment under the hat with the last one, calling out, "Salazar Slytherin!"

Everyone fell silent, Gryffindor looking fearful of this result while the other houses were anticipating the name that would be called. The wait was the longest. It seemed that the castle and the hat loved to keep everyone in suspense, but eventually the winner was called.

"HARRY POTTER!"

The entire hall was cheering and clapping. Except for Gryffindor house, who looked as if their worst dreams and come true. And Snape, who looked like he wanted to bang his head on the wall, much to Lucius' amusement. Neville cheered, grinning at Salazar as he got up and joined his friends with standing in front of the entire school.

Salazar was rather pleased with Slytherin's reaction. It told him that the house that he had always wanted his students to be was still there, even with the ridicule they had to endure. He was proud of them.

He could feel Dumbledore's gaze boring into his back, but he ignored him. Instead, he just grinned at the Slytherins. He could deal this the corrupt Headmaster later.

-S-

When everyone was dismissed, the Heads of each House and the Headmaster lead them to their new rooms. Lucius Malfoy also came along, smiling amusedly at Snape. The four friends were amused to see that only Snape and Dumbledore were upset by the winners, Dumbles more so than Snape. The others, including Lucius, just smiled at them. Apparently, they didn't share Dumbles' opinion that this would be bad for publicity.

Not that either Godric or Salazar cared.

The common room of their new rooms seemed to be a combination of all four houses, but luckily, it didn't look too bad, the furniture at least didn't seem to clash too badly. The walls of the castle were allowed to show through, which helped.

"For the rest of the year, these will be your rooms. You will still have to attend classes and any other duties as before, so there will be no slacking off just because you were picked for this," McGonagall said. "Your rooms are the house colors of the house that you represent. Boys cannot enter the girls' rooms; girls cannot enter the boys' rooms."

Salazar raised his hand, causing the teacher to look at him with amusement, the girls warily step away from him and Godric to grin in anticipation. "Are we allowed to bring things out that belong in our respective rooms?"

"Like what?" Snape snapped.

Sal shrugged. "I dunno. Like a lamp."

Everyone looked at him. This time, all of his friends stepped away. The teachers looked slightly worried for his reason of wanting to bring out a lamp.

"If you need a lamp, my boy, there are more light sources in this room. There would be no reason to bring it out of your room." Dumbledore seemed to miss the implications completely.

Salazar nodded, deciding not to correct the Headmaster on what he had meant by that. It was probably easier that way. Besides, there were easier ways. Instead, he turned around and walked inside the green and silver door into the matching room. He smiled at his favorite colors, absently noticing that his stuff was already siting at the edge of the bed at as he jumped up on to it and started bouncing.

The door was still open, so he could feel everyone else watching him, but he didn't care. They eventually went back to talking, explaining that the first task would be in a month, then all of the teachers, except Snape, Malfoy, and Dumbledore, left.

Dumbledore walked into his room, and Salazar stopped jumping on his bed, instead crossing his legs in mid-air and letting himself fall onto his bed in a sitting position.

"I'm sorry, my boy. I don't know how this happened. I was sure that I switched the names, but I was also sure that neither of you would get picked for these positions. I'm truly sorry this happened." He looked so sincerely sorry for this 'terrible' turn of events that Salazar almost gagged.

"It's okay, Headmaster. I'm sure I can deal with it just fine," Sal said, hoping that the old coot would leave.

He did.

Once he was out of his room and out of rooms all together, Salazar walked back into the common room, seeing that the girls had gone to their rooms, leaving only Godric, his father, and Snape sitting on the couches and chairs. Salazar walked around to sit on the couch next to Ric, looking calculating at the two men.

"I assume you two, or at least Mr. Malfoy, will be in here a lot?"

Both men raised an eye brow at him, but did not answer the negative.

"Can you two keep something from the Headmaster?"

Snape snorted. "Surely, _you_ do not have something that you want to keep from him. What big secret would you have to keep from Dumbledore?"

"Oh, it's not that big, I just don't think he would react well. I mean, he didn't like the positions in this that me and Draco got, so I doubt he would like this. And I don't want to her to have to hide herself every time someone besides us are in here."

"Her?"

Salazar reached up and unwrapped Seraphina from her place around his neck. Surprisingly, no one had even noticed that he had a new necklace, much less that it was a live snake. As soon as he set her in his lap, she resumed her full size. The two men started at the black snake, even more so when both of the boys stroked her and she let out a type of purring hiss.

"This is Seraphina."

She stared at them with a contented expression, flicking her tongue out. **"Hello."**

Lucius smiled tentatively at her. "What kind of snake is she?"

"A black forest viper."

"Poisonous?"

"Very."

Lucius looked at the girls, who had come out again. "Are you two okay with this?"

Hel smiled. "We were aware that he had her. We know that she will not bite anyone, even if they get her extremely angry. She has more control than that." Rena nodded along with her.

Salazar stood up with Seraphina, still full size, draped across his shoulders, her tail wrapped around his arm with her neck wrapped around the other one. He held out his hand that her head was over. "Don't worry. She won't hurt you."

Draco's father bravely reached up and stroked the snake's head, his eyes widening a fraction at her smooth scales. While he was stroking her, she smoothly moved from Salazar's shoulders to Lucius', causing the man to freeze.

"Don't worry," Salazar reassured as he sat back down, leaving the two grown men, as Snape had stood up when the snake had moved, to deal with Seraphina's urge to get them both to stroke her. She was a rather loving snake. Most of the time. The rest she was rather vicious.

As the men cautiously dealt with having a snake wrap herself around them, Ric looked slightly nervous.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?"

That distracted Lucius well enough as Seraphina focused on trying to get Snape to pet her, as he was resisting. "I wouldn't have cared if you had been sorted into Gryffindor in the first place, Draco. I respect and understand your decision not to join the Dark Lord, even if he does not. This is hardly any different."

Ric smiled, then sat back with an air of exasperation. "Well if I had known that …"

He looked confused. "What was that?"

Sal grinned. "Apparently, the hat had wanted to put him into Gryffindor, but he refused because of you. Just as it had wanted to put me in Slytherin, but I was afraid of what everyone was saying about the house, and didn't let it."

Snape looked horrified. "Potter … in Slytherin?"

Lucius laughed at the look on his friend, who now had a large black snake wrapped around him, nuzzling her face into his neck, almost as if she was trying to comfort him. "Apparently, you two aren't at all what everyone else thinks you are."

Sal and Ric grinned at each other. "Nope!"

Lucius nodded, and they sat in silence as Severus tried to get the damned snake off of him, but she seemed determined to stay. Finally, he stood up. "We should be going. You four should make sure you are settled in. I think I will take you out shopping tomorrow."

"Why?" Helga asked.

Malfoy senior smiled. "You have to look the part, don't you?"

With that, he walked to the door, waiting for Salazar to help Snape take Seraphina from him, and then the two men were gone.

Seraphina wrapped herself around Salazar again as he leaned against his lover. **"I sssmelt evil from those two, but it wasn't coming from them. Almossst as if it was an entirely different sssource all together."**

"**The Dark Mark?"**

She shook her head. **"Dark and evil are not the sssame thing. This was evil, not dark."**

"**The Dark Mark is Voldemort'sss symbol. I'm assuming the evil you smelt on them was the Dark Mark, since Voldemort isss evil, and both of them have the Mark."**

"**Oh, **_**him,**_**"** she spat, looking angry.**"He givesss sssnakes a bad name. He makesss usss ssseem evil, when we are not."**

"**What about me? People sssee me as evil."**

"**Humansss think that you are evil, but we know that they are wrong. We passed down sstories from the snakes that lived with you. We know that what the humansss think are terribly wrong. It wasssn't your fault. But **_**Voldemort**_** makesss usss look even worssse, in a way the rumorsss about you never did."**

"**Oh."**

"**Isss there a way to take the evilnesss from those two? I like them."**

"**Maybe."** Salazar looked to his friends, we were watching him, all of them looking curious. "She said that they smelled of evil, and wanted to know if there was a way to take it from them."

"The Dark Mark?" Rena asked. Salazar nodded. "There might be. But it might just be easier to kill Voldemort. But I'll look into it and see if I could find anything."

Godric smiled. "I hope there is. Father said that at first it seemed like a good idea, because the Wizarding World does need to change, but Voldemort became crazy with power. Especially after his rebirth."

Salazar nodded. "Sounds like him. Very few people can take that much power without it affecting them negatively. But for now, we have to take our school back, because our school has fallen victim to someone like that."


End file.
